Bottle-soaking machine.



J. A. .|0HNS0N.v BOTVLE SOAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION msn ocT.zo`, 19u.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

1. A. JOHNSON.

BOULE SOAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20, 1917.

Patented Feb. 18, 19119.

2 sugars-.SHEET 2..

meme.,

@we we e ati ED .ad FATE FID.,

JAMES A. JOHNSON, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

BOTTLE-SOAKING MACHINE.

recense.

Patented ree. is, wie.

Application led October 20, 1917.' Serial No. 197,665.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, JAMES A.. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Soaking Machines, of which the following is a speciiication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to bottle washing machinery and particularly to means for soaking the bottles prior to their being washed. l have devised this machine with special reference to use with the bottle washing machine illust-rated in my application Serial No. 60,430, filed November 8, 1915, but` I do not, of course, wish to'lilnit myself to the use of this machine with this particular form of bottle washing machinery.

Prior to the actual washing of bottles, it

is necessary that they should be soaked in a solution of caustic soda and hot water. The general 'object of my invention is the provision of means whereb bottles may be carried at a predetermine rate of speed into a soaking tank, carried through the soaking tank, drained andautomatically delivered to the bottle washing machine proper.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the bottles shall be held from falling out of the carrier racks` while within the tank and whereby the bottles just before leaving the tank may be turned into such position that the water may be drained ot the bottles.

A. further object is to provide improved means whereby the bottles may be dropped from the carrying racks in time with the movement of the bottle washing machine proper, the bottles so dr lpped being deposited within certain cu ,s which support the bottles while they are being scrubbed.

Other objects have to do with the details of construction and will hereinafter appear -more fully.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewv of'a bottle soaking machine constructed in accordance with my invention; y

Fig. 2 is a'- front view thereof, the bottle washlng machine being shown in fragmentary elevation; y

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the tank showing the means for adjusting the sprocket wheels 15; A*

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the bottle racks and a portion of the carrier upon which the rack is mounted;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the bottle rack and through one of the strips 37;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryV view of one of the strips 37;

gig. f? is a sectional view of the strips 40; an

' Fig. S is a perspective view of the slide or `supporting plate 42 Fig. 9 is a perspective view of another form of bottle holder; y

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical section therethrough;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section through the shaft 44 showing the manner in which the spring is connected to the shaft.

Referrlng to these drawings 10 designates the soaker tank which is made of sheet metal, supported upon brackets 11 extending up from the ficor so that the bot-tom of the tank is in spaced relation with the Hoor. This tank may be of any suitableproportions, but is preferably longer than it is high. Disposed upon suitable brackets 12 extending upward from the front corner of the tank is a shaft 13 carrying the sprocket wheels 14. Disposed at the lower raised and lowered. Disposed adjacent the bottom of the tank on shafts 17 are sprocket wheels 18, these shafts 17 being disposed between the sprocket wheels 14 and the sprocket wheels 15. Mounted upon brackets or other suitable supports 19 are the sprocket wheels 2O and inward of these sprocket .wheels 2Q and just below them and adjacent the forward wall vof the tank are rthe sprocket wheels 21 mounted upon a shaft 22 supported in a bracket 23. The brackets 19 and 23 are connected by anl integral brace 24e While l have shown tour approximately vertical dights for the sprocket chains 25, it is to be understood that more than four vertical ights will be used in the actual conc struction of the machine and that as many ights may be used as desired or as may be found necessary in order to secure a thorough soaking of the bottles.

@perating over the sprocket wheels 14, 15, 18, 20 and 2l are the laterally spaced sprocket chains 25, these chains carrying upon them the bottle racks 26. Each oit these bottle racks may consist oir a supporting plate 2'? which is imperorate and the' inner and outer plates 28 and 29, the inner plate being formed with four openings 30 and the outer plate with openings 3l alining with the openings 3G. lhese openings 30 and 3l are made with a diameter equal to, or

slightly' larger than, the diameter oil the bottles to be washed. lt will be'seen that the three Yplates 27, 28 and 29 are spaced from each other and that when a bottle is in place in the rack its neck and a portion of the body of the bottle projects out of the rack. Another form et bottle holder is illus"- trated in liigs. 9 and l0, which is in some respects preferable to the term illustrated in Fig. 4. The sprocket chain :may be driven by any suitable means, but l have illustrated the shaft 22 as being the shaft Vwhereby power is applied to the sprocket chains, and have `illustrated this shaft 22 as having mounted upon it a worm gear 32 driven by a worm wheel 33 mounted upon a transverse shaft 34, in turn driven through suitable gearing from a motor or other source of power.,

rlhe sprocket chains 25 and the racks 26 mounted thereon move in the direction of the arrows in Fig. i.. it the point A the bottles are inserted in the bottle racksby an attendant. l he bottles then pass upward in the direction .ot the arrow in Fig. l, over the lirst sprocket wheels 14, then downward in a slanting direction around the irst pair of sprocket wheels 18, then upward and over the sprocket wheels l5, then downward and around the second pair of sprocketY wheels- 17, then upward and over the sprocket wheels 14 on the rearend'of the tank, then downward and over the sprocket wheels 20 and 22, and beneath the tank and to the starting point. The sprocket wheels i6 are adjustable vertically in order to take u any slack in the sprocket chains.

noted that the vertical flights of the sprocket" chains are not really vertical but are at an inclination thereto andy this inclination is such that the bottles are always supported atan upward inclination so as to prevent them :from falling out. i

llt is necessary, just before the bottles leave the tank, that they should be drained of the liquid contents and to this end prolt will 'bei inea-,eco

" 36 so that the bottles at this place are inver-ted. ln order to prevent the bottles from dropping out at this point, l provide a plurality of supporting strips 37 which extend beneath this portion of the ight oij the racks 26 and hold the bottles in place within the racks. These strips 37, as illustrated in Fig. 6 are groei-ed upon their inner faces as at 36 to receive the extremity of the bottle neck and are also each formed with a drainage groove 39 whereby the contents or'1 the bottles may be drained away. After the sprocket chains have passed over the sprocket wheels 36, they pass over the rear pair of sprocket wheels 14 as previously Stated and so downward to the point where the bottles are dropped from the racks.

At the point where the sprocket chains commence to engage with the sprocket wheels 20, l' provide a plurality of supporting1 strips 40. rl`hese strips are curved con-l centrically to the path or movement of the' racks 26 and if there are four openings 3l for the reception or' the bottles in each'bottle rack 26, there are four of these strips 40 spaced from each other so as to be engaged by the ends of the bottle necks. These strips 4@ are supported/in any suitable manner and extend downward and torward'concentric to the path of movement of the bottle racks 26. Each strip is grooved upon its inner face as atl 4l to receive and slidingly engage the mouths of the bottles. At the lower ends ot the strips '40 there is provided a vtransversely extending supporting plate 42, this plate being disposed ust below the ends of the strips 40 so that w en the bottles pass od of the strips 40 they will'drop 'upon this plate 42. This plate constitutes a bottle trip and is in alinernent with the bottle receiving cups 43 of the bottle washing mechanism proper. After the bottles have been deposited upon the plate 42 this plate is shifted rearward Y and the bottles drop downward into the cups tappet 47 is struck, the shaft 44 rocked and the supporting member 42 withdrawn from beneath the bottles. This cam is so timed Athat at the time it operates tour bottle receivinp` cups 43 are disposed in alinement with the tour bottles supported upon the plate 49. so that when the plate 42 is shifted, the bottles will drop into the cups clearing the plate 42 and being in a position to be moved forward. It is of course to be understood that at the time that the bottles are dropped the cups i3 are exactly beneath the plate 4:2. As soon as the bottles have cleared supported upon a cross bar O'and as being held from upward movement at its rear end by a cross bar 5l. For the purpose of supporting each rack 26, the links of the chains 25 are provided with the inwardly projecting lugs 52 to which the ends of the strips 27 and 29 are riveted or otherwise attached. rThe openings in the strips forming each bottle rack constitute sockets in which the butt ends of the bottles are received. It is to be noted also that when the bottles are in place, the body of each bottle extends beyond theV plane of the carrier chains, as illustrated clearly in Fig. i, causing the weight of the bottles to exert a binding tendency on the bottle racks which is not present where the center of gravity of each bottle is approximately in the plane of the sprocket chains. Preferably a hood 53 is mounted upon the tank 10 and extends over the tank, this hoodv being provided with openings 5l for the passage of the sprocket chains 25 and the bottle holders. This hood is intended to prevent any dust from obtaining access to the bottles while they are being soaked.

While 1 have shown a certain arrangement of parts and certain details of construction which I have found to be particularly effective in practice. yet I wish to be understood that the mechanism illustrated may be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, for inst-ance. other forms of bottle holders may be used in place of the form illustrated in Fig. 4f. In Figs. 9 and 10, I show such another form of bottle holder which is more cheaply made than that illustrated in Fig. Je. This consists of a casting formed to provide a plurality of cylindrical open-ended sockets 55, the ends ofthe casting being formed with downwardly extending lugs 5G connected by a longitudinally extending bar 5T disposed beneath the middle of the several sockets 55 and with which the butts of the several bottles are adapted to engage. The ends of the casting l et are provided with outwardly extending fianges 58 having a bracing web 59, these flanges 58 being adapted to be riveted to the flanges 52 on the chains The advantage of the construction illustrated in Figs. 9 and l0, is that the holders may be very clieaply cast and, furthermore, that in the construction shown in Fig. l it is relatively difficult to get the openings 3() and 3l in exact alinement so that they will not bind against the bottles, which is not the case in the construction illustrated in IFigs. 9 and l0.

Preferably the supporting strips 37 and 40 are mounted so that they may be adjusted nearer to or farther from the sprocket wheels 36 and 20 with which these strips respectively coact, and thus nearer to or farther from the adjacent portions of the supporting chains. rThis is to accommodate bottles of various lengths. To this end, l have shown the strips i() as being mounted upon a cross bar 51, this cross bar being held to vertical supporting members (S1, which are longitudinally slotted as at 62, there being bolts 63 passing through the slots of the vertical members 61 and holding the strips 40 in any adjusted position. The strips 37 may be connected to a transverse supporting bar 60 in the same manner, this supporting bar in turn being vertically adjustable upon the walls of the tank by carrying bolts passing through slots in the tank walls above the water level. Any other means for adjusting the holding strips 40 and 37 toward or from the adjacent portions of the sprocket chains 25 may be used, however.

The operation of this invention will be obvious from the drawings. The bottles are inserted at the point A and then carried upward and then downward and upward through the tank a plurality of times and in their passage become filled with the liquid within the tank and then drained of this liquid so that the bottles are thoroughly soaked before they make their exit from the tank. After bein drained, the bottles pass downward over t 1e sprocket wheels 20 and are discharged as described into the cups t3 of a carrier which forms no part of the present invention. This carrier, as described in my patent before referred to, and as described in the pending application which has also been referred to, carries the bottles over bottle washing 'mechanism which thoroughly scrubs and washes out the interiors of the bottles and the exteriors of the bottles. The bottles are then removed by an operator. The mechanism which has been described and the bottle washing and scrubbing mechanism demands the services of only twooperators, one to place the bottles in the racks 26 and the other to remove the bottles after they have been scrubbed. rl`he machine Works with relatively small power and is entirely edective in actual operation.

Having described my invention, what l claim is:

1. A bottle soaking mechanism including a tank, an endless bottle carrier extending into the tank and out therefrom andhaving bottle sockets therein adapted to loosely receive the butt ends ot bottles and drop the bottles outJ when the sockets are inverted, the endless carrier at one-part of its path of movement exterior to the tank being directed in a substantially horizontal plane, and supporting the bottles in an inverted position, bottle supporting members extending parallel to and beneath a portion of the horizontally directed iiight and With which the lower ends of the bottles are adapted to engage, a shil'table member upon which the bottles are discharged and by which they s are supported in an inverted position, and

means for intermittently shitting said meinber from beneath the bottles to permit the bottles to drop. y

2. A bottle soaking mechanism including a tank, an endless bottle carrier extending into the tank and out therefrom the endless carrier at one part of its path of movement exterior to the tank being directed in a suhstantially horizontal plane, and supporting the bottles in an .inverted position and having a plurality oi bottle sockets thereon fle adapted to loosely receive the butt ends oi bottles and permit the bottles to drop ont f 3. A bottle soaking mechanism including.

a tank, an endless bottle carrier extending into the tank and out therefrom, said carrier having a plurality ort bottle sockets adapted to looselv receive the butt ends of bottles, and permit the bottles to drop out ltherefrom when the' sockets are inverted,

said endless carrier at one'part of its path of movement exterior to the tank being di'- rected in a substantially horizontal plane with the 'bottle sockdts inverted, 'a plurality of supporting strips extending parallel to this portion-oit the flight ofthe carrierY and in line with and beneathfthe bottle sockets,v said strips each having laterally spaced portions, with which portions the mouth ends of the bottle are adapted to en- -means for intermittently shifting said plate trom beneath the supporting strips to permit the bottles to drop. v

el. A. bottle` soaking mechanism including a tank, an endless bottle carrier extending into the tank and out therefrom, said carrier having a plurality of bottle sockets adapted to loosely receive the butt ends of bottles and permit the bottles to drop out theretromfwhen the sockets are inverted, said endless carrier at one part of its path of movement exterior to the tank being directed in a substantially horizontal plane With-the bottle sockets inverted, va plurality of supporting strips extending parallel to this portion oi the night ot the carrier and in line With and beneath the bottle sockets, each or" said supporting strips having laterally spaced elevated portions, With which portions the mouth ends of the bottle are adapted to engage to thereby permit the bottles to drain, a supporting plate disposedl beneath the ends of the strips and onto which the ends of the bott-le are adapted to drop When they have passed the supporting strips, a.- rock shaft having an arm operatively connected to the supporting` plate, and power actuated mea-ns tior intermittently rocking said shaft.

5. el. bottle soaking mechanism including a tank, an endless bottle carrier extending into the tank and out therefrom and including transversely extending 'bottle racks formed Withbottle sockets to loosely receiveythe butt ends of bottles and permit the bottles to drop out therefrom when the sockets are inverted, sprocket Wheels over which the endless' carrier 'passes "and by ivhich it is dedected into a horizontal plane rior a portion oit its ightafter it has left the tank, bottle supporting strips disposed concentric to the axis of the sprocket wheels and extending for a distance beneath the horizontal flight ot the carrier and Wit-h which the ends ci the bottles are adapted to be engaged, each of said supportingstrips being longitudinally grooved upon' its inner titi illii Jlace to provide laterally spaced portions with which the mouths of the bottles engage,

a shitable plate disposed beneath the terminations of said supporting strips and upon which the bottles drop, and means for intermittently shitting'said plate from beneath the ends of the bottles.

6. 'lhe combination with a bottle Washing las machine including an endless carrier having bottle receiving cups mounted thereon, one llight of the endless carrier extending. in a horizontal plane, ot a bottle soaking machine including a tank, an endless carrier passing through and out of the tank and including bottle racks, one ight of said last named endless carrier being disposed in a horizontal plane with the bottle racks inverted, and extending transversely to the path of movement of the iirst named carrier, said bottle racks having rbottle sockets formed to receive the butt ends of the bottles and permit the bottles to drop out therefrom when the bottle racks are inverted, means for supporting the bottles in an inverted position in said racks during a part of the horizontal movement of the bottle carrier, means for continuously moving the first named carrier, and means for intermittently permitting the dropping of the bottles from the bottle racks, said means acting when the cups are lin register.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES A. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

T. P. WEST, MARTHA J. PAGE. 

